Cook Edges Leffler And Wins Truck Race

Auto Racing - The Beat

June 30, 2002

Terry Cook took advantage of a race-extending caution Saturday at The Milwaukee Mile at West Allis, Wis., passing Jason Leffler with less than two laps remaining to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series GNC Live Well 200.

Cook, who'd led 127 of the first 154 laps before a slow pit stop dropped his Ford to fifth place, battled back to within a half-second of Leffler's Dodge but was running out of time when Brian Rose hit the Turn 4 wall. That caution extended the 200-lap, 200-mile distance for three laps -- the last two under green. Cook was able to dive under Leffler's truck as the pair began the 202nd trip around the flat, one-mile speedway. He took the lead off Turn 2 and extended the advantage to .696-seconds -- about two truck lengths -- at the flag.

ELSEWHERE

Greg Biffle took the pole, and Jim Sauter and his three sons will start in the top 10 of today's GNC Live Well 250 at West Allis. Biffle turned a fast lap of 121.770 mph. Jason Keller will start second. Tim Sauter, third at 120.964, will race his father, Jim, and two brothers, Jay and Johnny. Jay was fifth, Johnny ninth and Jim 10th. . . . Dario Franchitti earned the 11th pole of his CART FedEx Series career, posting the fastest lap for the Chicago Grand Prix at 158.118 mph. . . . David Donner won the Open Wheel division in the Pikes Peak (Colo.) International Hill Climb, covering the 12.4-mile course in 10 minutes, 52.39 seconds. Clint Vahsholtz won the Stock Car division in 11:53.05, and his father, Leonard, won the Superstock Truck/SUV division in 12:02.95.